damian155

How often should the car be started if not used often? reason asked I just bought the 03 SL55 (NOT CPO)and seem to have the battery light warning come on when I don't drive the car as little as 2 days. I went to the dealer and had the main and secondary battery replaced and they checked the full system .Came home ,the car sat for 2 days ,and battery light is on again. When I drive it ,it goes off but should I be seeing the battery light in 2days of no activity. I figured Ill as the pros , you guys lol

sprins

No. With fresh and charged batteries and a healthy car you should be able to leave the car for at least 7 to 10 days without the light coming on.

Perhaps the other battery is at fault? The system switches intelligently between the two, so the consumer battery need not be the one causing the "consumers offline" message.

kokanee

Is the car like the ML perhaps? If you store the key to close to the vehicle the same problem can occur. Or there was also a thread about faulty seat controllers. I seem to remember that unplugging the seat could test if it is the problem?

damian155

well i had both batteries replaced ,front and rear. I will try to see if the seat my be an issue. Also will be taking it to another MB dealer.

sprins

I would take it to the dealer right away. It could be anything or any faulty module that drains the battery. I one had the ignition module in my s-class malfunction causing all sorts of trouble (including drained batteries).

With stardiagnose a knowledgeable mechanic should be able to find errors or current leaks where there should be none.

damian155

yeah im making an appointment at another MB location. I just checked and my battery light is on again, mind you I drove the car at 4pm yesterday. It sucks when you buy a car that you always wanted and it has problems.

sprins

With battery light you mean the "electric consumers offline" message? Or something else?

Don't sweat it. This is the least of problems you can have with that car

damian155

yeah its the white battery light and the consumers offline light. I dropped it off at another MB location a few minutes ago so just waiting to hear what they have to say.

aza12345

I'm in the same position with not driving my car alot. The consumers offline happens all the time. Normally after a quick drive I can put the top down etc. I'm interested in the quote that "The system switches intelligently between the two". I've recently stored my car for the winter and have put a MB intelligent trickle charger on the rear battery but not on the front. I was going to get a second one, but will the car be smart enough to keep both batteries top up.

sprins

That I don't know. But it would depend on how you connect the triccle charger, and if the system is that intelligent to begin with.

I do believe that the battery in the front is not used when the cars ignition is off so that you can always start the car eventhough the rear battery is flat (alarm, keyless entry, other drains)

I also heard that the SL has 2 batteries because SBC (the brakes) need power to operate. So if your alternator would blow there still should be enough juice for SBC to help you avoid that tree. With two batteries the chance SBC malfunction is a lot bigger than with one battery.

BTW: The "electric consumers offline" message is not a fault, it's the system operating properly and keeping the rear battery from draining further than allowed. So if you do not have any other problems than that message after a reasonable amount of time I wouldn't worry too much about it.

damian155

MB #2 called this morning and said the amps are kind of low on charging system and may need a voltage regulator(sits above the alternator) and if that doesn't work i may need an alternator(hopefully not). I'm hoping they are not just swapping parts until they find an answer..it gets very costly that way. Anyone ever had the voltage reg replaced?

damian155

I'm lost now. Got the voltage regulator changed and the system was checked for any draws in current and everything checked out . The next morning my battery light is on again I took the car out for a 40 mile drive to give a little juice back ,parked it and the next morning car is completely dead. Help! any suggestions other than taking it back? doesn't anyone know a MB specialist to recommend in the North Jersey area?

jmf003

Man, that's a bummer Damian.

Given that you've replaced the batter and voltage regulator my guess is that something is drawing too much current while you are parked. As suggested above you can us a trickle charger as a short term stop gap. Wish I could help with a recommendation on a shop to do that work for you.

Good luck!

damian155

Thanks for the support ,I'll figure something out Im just glad its not the summer I would be really pissed.

sprins

This really sounds like a malfunctioning control unit somewhere in the car. It erratically engages when the car sits in the garage and drains the battery. Exactly what happened when my ignition control unit was broken. One morning the battery was drained, the other it wasn't. One day the keyless entry worked, the other day not even the keyfob worked.

I don't know about that. But unless your previous workshop consits of utter morons I'd give it another shot. Have them read out all the modules in the car. These aren't easily fixed problems, and a workshop might need one or two tries at it.

Just make sure that there are capable mechanics. Make a chat with the one that works on your car to get a clue of his skills.

damian155

Will do Sprins right after Thanksgiving and Ill let you guys know how it goes.

philpre

I had the same problem with my '03 SL55. Just get it replaced and I bet it will work. They had my SL at fletcher jones for a month or so. I HATE FLETCHER JONES!!!

jmf003

Sorry...didn't think of this before....

There is a TSB relating to this issue: P-B-54.30/153. Here's the text from Alldata:
Hope that helps,

damian155

I changed the voltage regulator and that wasn't the problem. jmf003 -I will inquire about that when I go later. I got the battery dying down to a science now lol the starter battery is not the one dying only the secondary battery. My personal mechanic told me i could pull out all fuses and test one by one to see where the draw comes from but i really don't have the time for that ,i will try MB one more time later today and if that doesn't work I guess i will have to do it the hard way.

tommytom11

i just had a similar problem and they found a draw from the fuse box. they replaced the entire fuse box for me.

DFW01E55

Have you tried removing the phone from the cradle?
That did it for me, I had the same problem.

damian155

mine didn't come with the phone attachments. well the car is back at MB now I wait for the call. I'll suggest checking the fuse box also. Thanks for the tips.

sprins

Did they read out the car with star diagnose to make sure there isn't a malfunctioning electronic module throwing errors all over the place? This method of checking each fuse doesn't seem very intelligent.

damian155

not sure what equipment they previously used to test the system. They told me the voltage regulator was the problem ,which i realize its not. I will be sure to find out when they call.
As far as my personal mechanic hes used to working on Mercedes and BMW and he said if MB couldn't help there's a way to pull each fuse individually and test to see which consumer is drawing the power.Which actually does make sense.. no fuse= cant draw power. Well I'll find out Mon or Tues what the problem is I HOPE!

damian155

I finally got it fixed! I had a previous water leak in trunk and it caused damage to the PSE pump in such a way that when the car was turn off the pump was still active. I had the trunk re-sealed and new pse pump replaced. When the other MB dealer could find that problem ..I have no idea